Day 30: Do you want to create a scene tracker? Story and setting. If an outline is the macro level of your plot, the scene tracker allows you to delve into greater detail on a scene-by-scene basis. Again, you may not need or want one, but you may find it useful to think of scenes in their component parts as you write your way through NaNo. You’ll want to have your outline handy for this, but you can...

Day 29: Do you want to write an outline? Story and setting. We’ve covered a lot of major topics in the last month, but how do we combine these disparate story ingredients into a recipe for a novel? For some people, the ingredients are enough on their own. They like the adventure of mixing them together on the fly to see what they come up with. By not defining everything beforehand, they have a lot...

Day 26: What is the darkest moment when all hope is lost? Story and setting. If we extrapolate from the fears the protagonist holds, the hatreds they feel, and the antagonist they’re up against, what does the darkest moment in the story look like? What has to happen in order for the protagonist to be hopeless or on the verge of giving up their goal? What kinds of circumstances would make the...

Day 14: What are the essential scenes so far? Story and setting. When you let yourself daydream about your novel, what moments are already easy to imagine? What do they look like? What emotions are running high? Nothing is set in stone at this stage, so if some scenes are fuzzy or even contradictory, that’s okay. Just make sure you record as much juicy plot inspiration as you can. Action Plan: Write...

Day 13: How does the protagonist get involved in the plot? Story and setting. Now that you’ve figured out who your protagonist is and how they fit in to your premise, consider what happens to make your character start to move to achieve that goal and get involved with the overarching plot. This is what’s called your key event, also known as the Call to Adventure, and it usually happens by the...

Triple Crit is a blog for storytellers of all sorts, be they behind the GM screen, keyboard, or character sheet. Here you can find articles and advice on campaign management, adventure design, character development, writing, and geek culture.

The author, Katrina Ostrander, is a twenty-something gamer chick, game master, and blogger working in the tabletop games industry for Fantasy Flight Games. In addition to her work as an editor of tie-in fiction, she has worked on nearly a dozen roleplaying game adventures and supplements. Her opinions are her own.